Biography

Vincent Benítez is Professor Emeritus of Music Theory. He holds a Ph.D. in music theory from Indiana University and a D.M.A. in organ from Arizona State. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on Olivier Messiaen’s opera, Saint François d’Assise, and his D.M.A. document on an analysis of the musical-rhetorical figures in J. S. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein and their implications for performance.

Benítez specializes in the music of Messiaen. His expertise on the French composer is widely recognized, as evidenced by his publications and presentations. He has authored three books on Messiaen, including Olivier Messiaen: A Research and Information Guide, 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2018); and Olivier Messiaen's Opera, Saint François d'Assise (IUP, 2019). He is currently writing a fourth book, focusing on musical time in the composer’s late music. Benítez has also published articles or book chapters on Messiaen in Music Analysis; Messiaen the Theologian (Ashgate, 2010); the Dutch Journal of Music Theory; the Journal of Musicological Research; Music Theory Online; the Poznań Studies on Opera: Theories of Opera (vol. 4); and the College Music Symposium, among others. 

Benítez has shared his research on Messiaen at national and international music conferences, including the SMT national meeting in Charlotte, NC; the AMS national meeting in New Orleans; the Music and Transcendence in a Posthuman Age International Conference, Montréal; the EuroMac Conference in Strasbourg, France; the first Perspectives on Musical Improvisation Conference at the University of Oxford; the IMS meeting in Rome; the Messiaen 2008 International Centenary Conference, Birmingham, UK; the International Conference of Messiaen Studies, Queensland, Australia; the Dublin International Conference on Musical Analysis, Ireland; the 14th Nordic Musicological Congress, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki; and OXMAC 2000, the University of Oxford.

Benítez has also been invited to lecture on Messiaen for the Eastman Theory Colloquium, Eastman School of Music; York University, Toronto, where he gave the Lisa Waxer Memorial Lecture; and Baylor University’s Lyceum Series, where he gave three talks on Messiaen, focusing on his analysis of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, his last improvisation concert in 1991, and Turangalîla-Symphonie. Cathy Peters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Radio National interviewed Benítez for her program on Messiaen’s Quatuor pour le fin du Temps: “Into the Music: Transcending Time – Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.” ABC aired the program on July 12, 2008, and rebroadcast it on May 5, 2012.  

Benítez likewise delves into Baroque music, the history of music theory, and popular music. His scholarly work can be found in The Album: A Guide to Pop Music’s Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations (two contributions, on Paul McCartney’s albums Ram and Band on the Run); BACH; The Diapason; GAMUT; Improvisation and Music Education: Beyond the Classroom; the Indiana Theory Review; and the Rivista di Analisi e Teoria Musicale. Benítez has also lectured on the music of Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello at PopMAC in Liverpool and presented papers on Buxtehude at the 15th and 16th International Baroque Music Conferences. He has authored The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years (Praeger/Bloomsbury, 2010) and contributed a chapter on McCartney’s White Album songs for The Beatles through a Glass Onion: Reconsidering the White Album (UMP, 2019).